American Society
for Cell Biology 56th annual meeting headed for San Francisco

From Dec. 3-7 this year,
the Moscone Center in San Francisco will be the very brief and temporary home of the American Society for
Cell Biology (ASCB) as it holds its 56th annual meeting, otherwise known as ASCB 2016. As with any annual meeting, there are the routine things like exhibits, educational sessions, special interest subgroup meetings and social
events, not to mention the “usual suspects” with respect to ASCB meeting attendees, which run the wide range of people involved in such areas as
cell biology, computational biology, molecular biology, CRISPR/Cas9 RNA sequencing, image analysis, neuroscience, cancer, Big Data science, biophysics, super
resolution microscopy, immunology, genetics, developmental biology, translational research, science education and biotech.

ASCB Executive Director Dr. Erika C. Shugart tells DDNews that part of the goal this year was “giving our attendees more of what
they like best—the chance to network and to learn about the latest science. We have more member-organized subgroup sessions and we have expanded the
number of minisymposia and microsymposia speaking slots.”

But she also noted what she calls an
“exciting new addition” this year for ASCB 2016.

“We will hold the inaugural Doorstep Meeting on
the Cell Biology of Cancer. This exciting one-day meeting will bring together cancer biologist and cell biologists to explore the intersections of their
sciences. As Alan Ashworth, a co-organizer, notes: ‘We think we’re getting to know how to treat cancer, but the reality is that we still know
very little about the cellular underpinnings of cancer.’”

The Doorstep Meeting will be ASCB’s
first-ever full-day symposium. It is designed to familiarize the cell biology community with advances and opportunities in the cancer field and will be held
on Saturday—the first day of the annual meeting, hence the name “Doorstep Meeting.” The event is jointly organized by ASCB and the National
Cancer Institute, with funding from Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The program is organized by Alan Ashworth of the University of California, San
Francisco, and Ira Mellman of Genentech Inc., will facilitate networking and discussion.

The meeting will cover a
broad range of topics of current relevance to cancer to help researchers in cell biology develop a core knowledge of the disease and to identify areas of
opportunity in which basic cell biological research promises to profoundly contribute to cancer prevention, treatment and cure. Cancer treatment is becoming
increasingly specialized, with new drugs targeting specific genes and phenotypes of cancer subtypes, ASCB notes of the program. However, a cell biology
approach to understanding cancer could identify common principles among cancer cells to allow a more pan-cancer approach to treatment.

The program will cover 11 topics in 25-minute talks by experts in the field, with 10 minutes for questions and answers, with
the topics as follows:

The Cell Biology of Cancer Immunotherapy

DNA Repair and Cancer Pathogenesis and
Therapy

Forcing Form and Function

Stromal-Immune Interactions in Cancer

Macrophages Are a Cellular
Toolbox That Promotes Tumor Progression and Metastasis

SWI/SNF (BAF) Complex Mutations in Cancer

Cancer Therapy Resistance: A Cell
Biologist’s Perspective

Lymphatic Vessels in Inflammation and Cancer: New Insights into Immune Regulation

The Autophagy
Adaptor p62/SQSTM1 Is a Key Mediator of Liver Cancer Development

The Regulation of Metastasis

Toward a Tumor Cell
Atlas: Dissecting the Tumor Ecosystem with Single Cell Genomics

As Shugart notes, this year’s annual meeting, which is
operating under a theme of “Following the arc of scientific discovery,” will be very focused on using disease to illuminate basic cell
biology.

And while there are great deal of other educational and informational programming during the event aside
from the Doorstep Meeting to cover that approach and theme, Shugart notes that DDNews readers attending the event might be particularly interested
in ASCB 2016 workshops on imaging the cell in the 21st century, with a look at challenges and opportunities in fluorescence microscopy; cryo-
electron microscopy (more commonly known as cryo-EM), with a focus on what the technology can do now and how you can get started; and leveraging CRISPR for
precision biology.

Several symposia should also be of interest to DDNews readers, she says, citing
Disease Informing Cell Biology, Logic of Signaling and Mitochondria and Cancer Cell Biology as three good examples.

“As you can see from the sessions, we have a lot to offer people who are interested in the future of medicine and what the most cutting-edge
science might offer as the next targets and potential cures,” Shugart says. She also highlighted the ASCB 2016 keynote speaker, Dr. Richard P. Lifton
of The Rockefeller University, who will speak on “Genes, Genomes and the Future of Medicine.” More on that keynote in another article later in
this section.

Looking toward next year, when the annual meeting will be in Philadelphia (from Dec. 2-6, 2017),
Shugart says ASCB will partner with the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) for a joint ASCB/EMBO meeting.

Says Shugart: “As our President-elect Pietro De Camilli observes, ‘Science is an international endeavor. The ASCB has become a beacon for
this, not only in America but in the world. Many members of EMBO, one of the strongest European scientific societies, are already ASCB members. The joint
meeting will acknowledge and consolidate our partnership.’ We will also offer a Doorstep Meeting [in 2017] that brings together cell biology and
neuroscience. This will be an opportunity for attendees to explore the intersection of two hot areas of science.”

Rick Lifton was moving house. After 23 years in New Haven at Yale, Lifton was packing up
last July for Manhattan where on Sept. 1, he would become the 11th president of the Rockefeller University. The job comes with an on-campus
residence, a spectacular free-standing house overlooking New York’s East River that is also used to host official gatherings. “I haven’t
counted the bedrooms yet. I think it’s five,” Lifton reported.

Lifton will have firmer ideas about his
new house and new job by the time he arrives in San Francisco on Dec. 3 to give the keynote address for ASCB 2016. It won’t be Lifton’s first
time at ASCB, he said. He gave a keynote talk at ASCB in 1998. At that time, Lifton was noted for his genetic studies of hypertension, identifying rare
mutations that drive either extraordinarily high or low blood pressure and tracing all to mutated genes that severely misregulate renal salt absorption.
“But it’s been a long time,” said Lifton, “and a fair amount has changed since then.” That is an understatement on the order of
saying that Lifton lives in New York City.

Exome sequencing is what changed everything. Lifton was one of the
pioneers of a new kind of forensic genetics that combines emerging genomic sequencing technologies with a different sampling approach focused exclusively on
the exons, the roughly 180,000 protein-coding genes that make up 1 percent of the human genome but are thought to harbor the vast majority of the mutations
with large effects in human disease. With exome sequencing, the Lifton lab has pried open the hitherto hidden genetic underpinnings of a startling range of
human conditions from tumors that produce endocrine hormones to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis to congenital heart disease.

Following the initial sequencing of the human genome in 2001, it was clear that re-sequencing the genome by massively parallel sequencing was
possible, but extremely expensive. Given that the vast majority of mutations with large phenotypic effect that had been mapped in an unbiased fashion and
then identified had proved to be attributable to effects on protein-coding regions and flanking intron-exon boundaries, selectively sequencing the 1 percent
of the genome comprising coding sequence seemed an attractive approach for Mendelian discovery.

Lifton had
developed methods for physically purifying mRNAs by hybridization to cloned DNA as a graduate student in the 1970s. But the idea of doing the analogous
simultaneous selection of DNA of all exons of the human genome nonetheless seemed audacious, recalled Lifton, who, before his new Rockefeller post, was chair
of genetics at Yale Medical School and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. The idea of exome sequencing was in the zeitgeist of the time, and a
number of academic labs and companies worked on the idea.

Lifton is careful to point out that others, especially
Jay Shendure at the University of Washington, also developed robust methods for exome capture. Lifton and colleagues developed an analogous capture approach
working with scientists at Nimblegen, iteratively testing and modifying protocols to come up with a robust protocol for production and data analysis. They
eventually were satisfied that they could identify homozygous and heterozygous sequence variants with high sensitivity and specificity. As an initial
“test drive” of the technology, in 2009 they pulled off the hat trick in genetic medicine—the first definitive diagnosis of a human genetic
disorder by genomic or exomic sequencing.

An example of a disease featuring gene-environment interaction from
recent work is pulmonary fibrosis, in which his group, collaborating with Christine Garcia’s lab at University of Texas Southwestern, discovered
mutations in the genes PARN and RTEL1 that cause disease in conjunction with inhaled environmental exposures. “You may be fine if you’re never
exposed to an environmental co-factor,” Lifton explained. Susceptibility to certain infections could be another example. “You may be fine with a
mutation in the interferon response pathway unless exposed to a Neisseria that causes meningitis, in which case your ability to fight it off is
drastically impaired.”

All of this [and other work in the area], Lifton believes, points to a clear path
forward to answer the truly big question revealed by exome sequencing: “What is the consequence of a mutation in every gene in the human genome?
”

Getting there, said Lifton, is not going to be easy and will require a closer interweaving of labs working
in genetics, biochemistry and cell biology to explain the mechanism. “What remains to be done in human genetics? The answer is practically
everything.”

The ASCB and Keck Graduate Institute are partnering to offer a one-day course for graduate students and postdocs on Dec. 2,
2016, the day before the ASCB Annual Meeting. The course will help basic scientists become more competitive for jobs in biotech, pharma and industry.

Designed for graduate students and postdocs, the course will introduce students to bioscience commercialization
processes through case study analysis and group problem-solving exercises.

An “Introduction to Bioscience
Business” morning session from 8 a.m. to noon will introduce students to bioscience industry dynamics and commercialization processes. The session will
be highly interactive, combining short introductory lectures with discussions of bioscience industry cases.

Noon
to 2 p.m. will bring a networking lunch with representatives from local biotech companies, followed from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. by “The Business of
Science—Combining Your Scientific, Business, and Social Skills to Make You ‘Business-Ready’ and Competitive for a Professional
Career.”

Among the areas to be covered:

What can I be with a Ph.D.? Learn the
different career paths available and the kinds of institutions that value doctorate holders.

Developing your career plan. Apply “What
you can be with a Ph.D.” to reevaluate career choices and learn to build and leverage your network to identify critical skills.

Teams
will research job descriptions for real positions you desire to identify critical technical business and social skills and relate those to your own
accomplishments.

Develop a targeted resume that matches your technical business and social skill accomplishments to job-specific
requirements.

Preparing for interviews. Research your company, your job and the interviewers. Prepare for the tough questions. Learn to shift
from “expert” to “learner” and apply effective communications

Presenters are Randall Ribaudo and Larry
Petcovic, co-founders of SciPhD, a company that specializes in helping scientists prepare for professional careers.

ASCB 2016 symposia

Symposium 1: Mechanical Forces in Cell Biology

Sunday, Dec. 4, 8 a.m.

Rapid cell migration through dense tissues—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle

Under pressure: epithelial cell population control

Forcing Form and Function

Symposium 2:
Organelle Organization

Sunday, Dec. 4, 9:45 a.m.

The behavior of mitochondria

The Cell
Biology of Lipid Storage

Symposium 3: Disease Informing Cell Biology

Monday, Dec. 5, 8 a.m.

Cell biological and genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disease

Mitochondrial parts, pathways, and pathogenesis

Symposium 4: Quality Control

Monday, Dec. 5, 9:15 a.m.

Selective inhibition of a phosphatase to correct
protein quality control failures and treat neurodegenerative diseases

Below is the majority of exhibitor tech talks just for Sunday alone during the ASCB annual meeting. There are also tech
talks on Monday and Tuesday. For the full listing for all three days, visit www.ascb.org/2016meeting/techtalks.

A
Biomimetic Cell Culture Platform for Enhancing Cell Biology Studies

NanoSurface Biomedical

8:15 a.m.-8:30 a.m.

Experience level: Intermediate

Abstract: Cells maintained in vitro typically exhibit
disordered cytoskeletal structures and random orientations. This disordered development can produce aberrant functional profiles and limit the utility of
such in-vitro models in terms of providing predictive data relevant to mammalian cell function. Here we demonstrate that extracellular matrix-
inspired substrate nanotopography drastically improves the structural and functional development of differentiated cells. Specifically, we show how our
patented nanotopographic culture dishes can be utilized to study the effect of cell-nanotopography interactions on adhesion, signaling, polarity, migration
and differentiation in the context of cancer biology, as well as regulation of epithelial wound healing, cardiovascular function and stem cell biology. This
talk will cover a broad range of applications and discuss results achieved from analysis of over 20 adherent cell types.

Creation of an Industry Standard for the Sourcing of Human Samples

Scientist (formerly Assay Depot Inc.)

8:30
a.m.-8:45 a.m.

Experience level: Introductory

Abstract: The Scientist.com marketplace has changed how scientific research
is sourced and managed. By simplifying access to experts and services, the marketplace has dramatically lowered barriers to scientific innovation and helped
pioneer a new virtual approach to research. Scientist.com has also now teamed up with five large pharmaceutical companies to establish an industry standard
for the sourcing of human biological samples. This rigorous compliance framework provides increased visibility, traceability and control while simplifying
the user experience, saving time and money and improving access to innovative and routine human samples.

Abstract: Changes in cellular metabolism underpin nearly all human disease. An
integrated quantification of major metabolic pathways is possible using Seahorse XF analyzers from Agilent Technologies. Data normalization is often required
to compare the metabolic poise of different samples, especially between cell types or treatment groups. Total cell number in each well is a widely accepted
parameter for normalizing XF data; however, conventional methods for counting require additional procedures prone to error. In this Tech Talk, we will
describe a new approach to normalization using the Cytation 5 Cell Imaging Multi-Mode Reader from BioTek Instruments Inc. Using in-situ assessment
of cell number through digital microscopy, error due to sample preparation is decreased and accurate normalization can be applied to XF data.

Exploring the RANKL-RANK Axis in Bone Homeostasis and Cancer Metastasis

BioLegend

10:45
a.m.-11:45 a.m.

Experience level: Intermediate

Abstract: Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand, RANKL, is a
member of the tumor necrosis factor family of cytokines. RANKL functions as a key factor for osteoclast differentiation, migration and activation through
binding to its receptor RANK (receptor activator of NF-kappaB). This RANKL-RANK interaction is essential for bone formation. Besides maintaining bone
homeostasis, it was recently found that RANKL also triggers cell migration of epithelial and melanoma cancer cells, that express the receptor RANK, to the
bone. Here we present our portfolio, validation methods and data exploring this RANKL-RANK system in bone resorption and bone metastases using several assays
such as cell differentiation, chemotaxis, ChIP and blocking capacity by target-ligand inhibition bioassays, among others. We’ll also explore RANKL-
induced intra-cellular signaling pathways involved in these processes.

Simple workflows for cellular analyses from
Cell Signaling Technology

Cell Signaling Technology

10:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m.

Experience level:
Intermediate

Abstract: Antibody-based assays are often used to accurately detect and quantify protein expression and modification,
providing information critical to our understanding of both normal and disease-related signaling. These assays may incorporate numerous antibodies and cell
lines and/or tissues, allowing for multiplexed analysis of complex cellular signaling events and the simultaneous measurement of multiple endpoints within a
single experiment. Here, we will review common antibody-based applications like IHC, ICC, HCS and flow cytometry. We will also demonstrate how highly
validated fluorescently labeled antibodies and cellular dyes from Cell Signaling Technologies can be paired with the CellSimple Cell Analyzer to quickly and
easily monitor biological processes, including cell health, viability, cell cycle, apoptosis and immune or other cellular signaling in multiplex whole cell
assays or lysate-based bead assays.

High-throughput and Adaptive Feedback Microscopy

Carl Zeiss
Microscopy LLC

Noon-12:35
p.m. &nb
sp;

Experience level: Advanced

Abstract: High-throughput microscopy of siRNA treated cells
has become a standard tool for discovering genes with roles in specific biological processes. However, conducting high-throughput microscopy experiments is
still challenging as it puts high demands on sample preparation, microscopy, image and data analysis. Moreover, further characterization of the “hit
genes” often requires demanding microscopic assays that are difficult to perform even in medium throughput. This talk will outline the typical
challenges occurring in high-throughput microscopy and discuss how dedicated microscope systems can help to tackle these challenges. In addition, it will
describe how “adaptive feedback microscopy” allows scientists to perform highly complex microscopic assays in a fully automated manner, thereby
enabling detailed and systematic further investigation of the identified “hit genes.”

Cytoskeletal
Mechanics in the Beating Heart

Carl Zeiss Microscopy,LLC

12:35 p.m.-1:10 p.m.

Experience level:
Advanced

Abstract: Microtubules have long been implicated in heartbeat regulation, yet their contribution to cardiac mechanics, and how it
changes in disease, has remained obscure. One barrier to progress has been a lack of observation of microtubules in the living, beating myocyte. Recent
advances utilizing Airyscan imaging have allowed us to capture microtubule behavior in contracting and stretching myocytes. Microtubules deform during the
heartbeat, forming buckled sinusoids that resemble spring like elements and increase the mechanical resistance to myocyte contraction and stretch. We
identify two key components regulating these microtubule mechanics: 1) post-translational “detyrosination” of cardiac microtubules and 2) desmin
intermediate filaments. Additionally, we provide evidence that cytoskeletal resistance may limit cardiac function in human heart disease.

Dragonfly: A New Imaging Platform—Instant Confocal with Multi-Modal Imaging

Abstract: The electron microscope (EM) is an invaluable tool for unraveling the
structural details of cells and tissue. For the majority of questions the transmission electron microscope (TEM) is the standard to investigate resin
embedded or cryo specimens. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was mainly used to collect information on the topography of a specimen. However, the SEM
emerged as a valuable imaging tool for traditional EM samples and thin sections, offering advantages over classical TEM approaches. These advantages include
the opportunity to section a resin-embedded sample directly in the SEM, prepare large numbers of serial sections, image them automatically and include
correlative light and electron microscopy easily into the workflow. The potential to complement, or even replace, the TEM in biological applications will be
discussed.

Explore the Human Cell

Human Protein Atlas

2 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Experience level: Introductory

Abstract: The subcellular distribution of 12,000 human proteins has been localized to 27
organelles and cellular structures using an antibody-based approach and high-resolution confocal microscopy. The high spatial resolution allows
identification of novel protein components of all major organelles as well as fine cellular structures such as the cytokinetic bridge, nuclear bodies and
rods and rings. Here we present a high-resolution proteome map of the human cell, the Cell Atlas. It is an image-based atlas detailing the subcellular
distribution of the human proteome, as part of the Human Protein Atlas. It also includes chapters describing the organelle proteomes, multi-localizing
proteins, cell cycle dependent proteins, and cell line transcriptomes.

Correlative and Statistical Localization
Microscopy Using the Vutara 352

Bruker Corporation

2 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Experience level:
Introductory

Abstract: Super-resolution imaging, localization microscopy in particular, optically resolves spatial features within the
cellular environment an order of magnitude below the classical diffraction limit. Due to the nature of the method, localization microscopy is often lacking
in the contextual information of the overall cellular environment. Utilizing optical correlation microscopy through the Vutara 352 framework, it is possible
to relate the large-scale cellular environment, obtained via swept-field confocal imaging, with more refined super-resolution localization data. Furthermore,
its software offers numerous statistical analysis features to quantify the localization data into meaningful biological interpretations. These statistical
features include spatial distribution tools such as Ripley’s K and pair correlation calculations, cluster, co-localization and resolution analysis, as
well as live-cell tools such as mean-squared displacement calculations and particle tracking.

New transfection
reagents for CRISPR editing and in vivo applications

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

3 p.m.-4 p.m.

Experience level: Intermediate

Abstract: This talk will cover our latest transfection innovations for CRISPR editing and in-
vivo applications. Topics included in the talk: Nucleic acid delivery solutions for hard-to-transfect and primary cells; delivery of genome editing
tools, including cas9 protein; high-titer production solutions for lentivirus; and in-vivo delivery of RNAi and mRNA using Invitrogen
Invivofectamine 3.0 reagent.

Creating an open source collection of GFP-tagged human iPSC lines to model cell
organization and dynamics

Allen Institute for Cell Science

4:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m.

Experience level:
Intermediate

Abstract: The Allen Institute for Cell Science (AICS) is creating a dynamic visual model of hiPSC organization using a suite
of GFP-tagged hiPSC lines labeling 15 to 20 major organelles/molecular machines of the cell. We will present the CRISPR/Cas9 methodologies, workflows and QC
metrics used to generate these endogenously tagged clonal cell lines and discuss our team and open science approach to create and share our tools and data.
During this tech talk, we will focus on the following: 1) methods (CRISPR/Cas9) and workflow for creating the GFP-tagged lines, 2) assays and images for
validation and QC, 3) list of structures and genes tagged, 4) access to cell lines and associated data and 5) community feedback for future line
production.

Five Useful Teaching Examples Using NCBI BLAST

The National Center for Biotechnology
Information

5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

Experience level: Intermediate

Abstract: Sequence similarity search
tools such as BLAST are fundamental to modern biology and are now taught to students in undergraduate biology classes or earlier. The NCBI has many standard
demonstrations that we use to highlight the features of the BLAST. These examples are also useful for teaching biology principles and techniques including
evolution, taxonomy, homology, multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic trees, primer design and gene expression analysis. This workshop will provide you
with examples using NCBI BLAST that explore these principles and techniques and are readily adaptable to your classrooms.